Inside the New York Yankees clubhouse with MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch.

Weekend over — on to Chicago

Now that the Yankees are out of Baltimore, dropping two out of three before Andy Pettitte stopped the bleeding on Sunday — and isn’t that a familiar theme? — it’s time for Joe Girardi to re-evaluate a little.

I’m still not of the belief that Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy should be dropped from the rotation, as some are saying, but it’s clear that they’re not ready for prime time as currently comprised. You knew that at 21 and 23, respectively, they were going to struggle, but the hope must have been that they both wouldn’t at the same time and for an extended period. That’s why you saw the move they made, separating Hughes and Kennedy in the rotation to help save the bullpen.

Girardi believes there are still positive signs to be taken from the first few weeks but the key right now is for both of these guys to have confidence in their stuff and attack hitters without nibbling around the zone. It really does sound so easy when you’re not standing 60 feet and six inches from a proven big league hitter. Once you’re there, though, it’s a whole different story. The sooner Hughes and Kennedy can both make the adjustments, the better off they’ll be.

As far as Alex Rodriguez’s injury, you just have to hope for the best. He had a strained hamstring last year that most people expected would become a DL stint and derail his MVP year. It turned out to just be a blip on the radar. Then again, even Derek Jeter missed six games with a quadriceps injury so you know it’s going to at least be a little bit of time.

Bad timing, especially with the offense beginning to warm up. In case you didn’t notice, I had the weekend [relatively] off up here in the tri-state area (got to hit Murray Hill on Friday; hiking in Harriman on Saturday. Variety.). I’m flying out to the Windy City on Monday and will be with the team in Chicago and Cleveland. Big trip ahead — time to pack.

Living in the SF Bay Area I am a bit more tuned in to the team situation in regards to the A’s, and Giants, and from what I have heard is that Thomas isn’t a good fit with the A’s at this point with Daric Barton and Mike Sweeney at 1B. Sweeney is hitting .275 at this time.

Giambi is a power threat but that’s all he is. I believe his HR numbers will probably be all right by the end of the season, but he wastes too many at bats in between those home runs. I know he walks a lot and all that, but then he just clogs up the bases. The Yankees need hits. When there’s a guy on second they need a hit. When there’s a guy on third with less than 2 outs, we need someone who has a chance of making good contact. Unfortunately right now Giambi doesn’t show signs of being that guy again.

I don’t think Moeller will keep hitting, he never been much of a hitter in his career. I think you keep Posada, and Molina behind the plate. Whatever you lose in Moeller will be more than made up for in both Posada, and Molina. I only see Posada back at 1B if things really start getting desperate at that position. In short, Moeller goes back down.

I don’t think this team can afford to have 3 starters offensively at the same time. I’m not worried about Cano at all, Damon could still turn it around so that leaves Giambi as the only one who should be targeted for a change. I haven’t seen anything positive offensively from Giambi as a starter. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Duncan up fairly soon if Giambi continues to struggle. Gonzalez is strictly a middle infielder at this point, and Ensberg is more of a 3B. I don’t know if it’s very wise to put 3 hitters who are struggling back-to-back in the lineup either.

The only problem I see with that is Giambi says he’s more comfortable hitting (and his career stats back it up) when he’s playing in the field. he says he has a hard time staying in the game intensity-wise when he DH’s (and I’ve heard that from many former fielders turned DH’s). I think he needs to be dropped in the lineup (Girardi cannot be stuck on Giambi’s name and old stats, he’s a declining player). I think the bottom three have to be Giambi, Cano, and Damon. Cano will hit .300 this season, Abreau made the turnaround so will Robbie, and Damon will bat .275-ish. Melky is a leadoff guy this year, decent speed, good OBP/BA and he’s beginning to show borderline power. I’m still glad we didn’t make the Johan deal regardless of Phil’s and Ian’s struggles. Hopefully one of them will turn it around soon, we need them to.

Duncan is not coming back until mid season. We have Gonzalez and Ensburglar, no more infielders are coming up unless we have an injury. Duncan could play outfield if needed but we need more roster spots for pitching right now.

“G” hasn’t been doing a good at either. He should sit for a while and give 1st to Duncan and DH to someone that can hit their weigh. I agree we should rid ourselves of Betimit. Gonz should remain our backup IF.
“GO YANKEES”

I am not concerned with G, Cano, Abeu or Damon, they are second half players.

All that being said Ian Kennadia is not yet a big league pitcher, if he continues to get shelled, he never will be. Hughes will turn things around at the back end of the rotation and will become a future 1,2 or 3.

I also feel the best way to get Giambi going is to change his role and make him more of a DH, at least that way he can focus more on his offensive problems. He may be concentrating too much on his defense right now, that’s what may be hurting him.

I just don’t think the Yanks can move him since he can’t hit. At best he is a late inning defensive replacement or a pinch runner. What team would give up any talent for that? The Yanks might just release him.

If you’re going to take to old farts who aren’t even pitching any more over 2 injured pitcher and one who isn’t in the majors anymore, then we may as well go with Guidry, and Whitey Ford over the beer-guzzler, and “The Savior”.

I wouldn’t send Kennedy to the pen, yet. He needs more of a chance to work through his growing pains as does
Hughes. I think Garcia is hurt right now, so who would the Yanks get to replace Kennedy in the rotation? Darrell Rasner? He’s having a great season in the minors, but could just be another Igawa, very good at the minor league level, and horrible at the major league level, as he has never shown anything in the majors.

I heard David Cone say that Mussina has been mentoring Phil and Ian this season. They pitched alright last season before Mussina started rotting their brains with bad advice. And I’m glad the Yankees are playing the White Sox, I LOVE watching Jim Thome bat, he has the hardest swing in the majors, well him and Dustin Pedroia.

Look I’m not either one of these is destined to be as solid as Pettitte, but I am saying that we have no clue whatsoever about either one. The gamble here is that we will only know at the end of the year, and that’s not even certain. If they really aren’t anything special, then you wasted a year on them and probably miss the playoffs. If they are solid then they’ll straighten themselves out and the Yankees have a bright future. Point is know one knows how it’ll pan out yet.

Actually, I seem to recall another home-grown Yankee pitcher struggling in his first season. He was always up and down. He gave up way too many walks. Eventually he found his stride that year though. I believe his name was Andy Pettitte. Guess it’s a good thing the organization showed patience in him.

Hughes and Kennedy will be fine when they get more experience. The question is how much, how long, and will the Yankees be able to compete for the division with two pitchers going through growing pains?

I’m ok with all that lineup Chaz. Although, in Damon’s first year with the Yankees he probably the BEST leadoff hitter in baseball. He hit .285, 24 HRs, 80 RBIs. From a leadoff guy that’s outstanding. His next year (last year) wasn’t bad since his OBP was still .351, however his slugging went down dramatically (from .482 to .396). Now this year he’s been pretty rough, but I think the way we think about has to do with a steady decline we’ve seen from him as a Yankee. Unfortunately he’s not getting any younger, and the decline will probably continue. Yet another reason to go with your lineup.

Damon, IMO, is the worst leadoff hitter in the majors. He has done NOTHING since becoming a Yankee besides disappoint me. That dinger he hit in last year’s playoffs has been IT. On that note, we don’t need power from him anyway. We need him to set the table. Right now, Jeter is killing the ball, and has no runner to advance until Cabrera hits something in the late innings. For now, I say we move Damon into the 9 spot, and bring Cabrera up to lead off.

Bruney has earned the benefit of the doubt until he loses it. He came in this year in good shape, he’s throwing in the mid 90’s for strikes. Bpark, it’s the offense right now that is killing us. This club should be scoring 8 runs a night and we can barely manage 3.

For once I will actually agree with that myopic known as jasper…..in part. ESPN kisses the butt of whoever is winning. They are the crowned kings of the flavor of the month club. The worst of the bunch, IMO, is Steve Phillips. This man’s voice makes me want to drive to CN and slap the taste out of his mouth. I think my favorite guy is Kruk. I liked Harold Reynolds when he was there.

I think one solution we have is to place Kennedy in the bullpen and have him come out for spot starts. Then, move Hughes to the number 5 spot. After we do that, and this may be a controversial move, sign Freddy Garcia and slot him in the 4 hole. I’m sure he’s not going to give us what he gave Seattle or Chicago, but I know he can deliver more than he gave Philly. What do you guys think?

As proof our my above ascertion that our O is the issue this season I offer the following:
In that game against KC that Farnsworth gave up 2 in 2? He didn’t lose the game for us. We had 7 hits and were shut out, 4-0.

It’s tough how the lefties are killing us with the slow starts once again. I mean Arod’s off to a decent start and Jeter is so far fulfilling Arod’s prophecy of an MVP for him this year. Molina, Moeller, Gonzalez, Ensberg. These guys are doing great so far. Then you have the lefties…

I mean Matsui and Abreu have been ok so far, but after that it’s been a disaster.

Damon .215 (hopefully showing signs of life at least)

Cano .169

Giambi .109

I don’t care how well the other guys hit, it’s tough to get a lineup clicking when you have three automatic outs all from the same side. How’s a manager supposed to separate them while keeping the other guys hot?

chaz,
I gotta disagree about Moneyman’s lack of vision on finding a good setup guy. I’ve always maintained that if you are GOOD and have more than 3 pitches, you start. If you have a phenomal out pitch (like, say, a cut fastball) and a good set-up pitch, you close. Otherwise you fall into that quagmire that is middle-relief. There really is no such thing as signing a good set-up man because generally if you are one teams good set-up man, you are another’s closer. Set up men are made, not born as in you just find yourself throwing the ball really well, holding leads for an inning or so, throwing K’s and all of a sudden you find your call coming the top of the 7th with 2 out and men on or in the top of the 8th, consistently.
Bpark – Cut Bruney??? Ummm…. In case you hadn’t noticed he is one of the bright spots in our pen this season. In fact, between he and Traber, our short relief doesn’t look that bad at all.
Bruney is 1-0, 1.87 in 11 innings, 11k’s.
Traber is 0-0, 2.57 in 7 innings, 5k’s.
Mo is 0-0, 0.00 in 7 innings, 8k’s.
Even Ohledorf is holding his own at 0-0, 3.77, 13k’s in 14 innings. And as much as we’ve all ragged on Farsnworth, he’s ACTUALLY pitching well. With the exception of 2 runs in 2 innings against KC, he has given up a run against TB and a run against Boston. 4 runs in 8.1 innings with 8k’s and 2bb. We would have KILLED for a pen that looked like that this time last year…..
No. Our ‘pen isn’t the culprit this year. Even our SP hasn’t been atrocious with only a couple exceptions. It’s our O that has hurt us. With 3 of our 5 starters we know EXACTLY what we are going to get, start in and start out. Yes, each will struggle at times but we know that Wang and Pettite will have mid-upper 3 era’s while Moose will be a point higher. Score 3-5 runs a game? With our “lineup”? It SHOULD be a no-brainer. Afterall, we’re we the lineup that was going to score 1000 runs last season?? Where the heck are THEY?? Our SP is giving us opportunities to win and the ‘pen is holding on to those opportunities. But we still aren’t scoring runs.

They definitely have the talent. I was actually watching John Kruk (another ESPN genius) last night and he was saying the usual cliches “we don’t know if these kids can be successful on the major league level,” etc. Actually, we DO know they can be successful. Last year Kennedy started three games and had a 1.89 ERA. Hughes almost pitched a no-hitter and was probably our best starter against the Indians in the post season. Our problem isn’t that we don’t know whether they can pitch. Our problem is that we have to see how they do over the course of a season.

Yeah, he’s definitely just a #5 at this point. He has been the third best starting pitcher so far, but that doesn’t mean he’s the #3. Like I’ve said before, he’s actually fine as #5, but he’s a pretty crappy #3.

Bet “I’ll make you guys puke again, if I’m still with this team until the All-Star break”amit has no trade value whatsoever. He has no role on this team, and is an unproductive hitter. The Yanks should just cut him, period. He would be a waste of a roster spot at the major and minor league levels. Duncan has far more talent than him, don’t be surprised to see him up soon to help inject some life into this dead offense. A team would be absolute suckers to give something up for that no talent. OOOOOPPPPPSSS!!!! The Yanks already fit that description.

Messina is no innings eater, far from it. He can barely make it to the 6th inning, if anyone needs to be demoted it’s him. He’s also no mentor so the younger pitchers shouldn’t be listening to him.

MSN: Yankees looking for starting pitching via trade. I bet Betemit is part of the bait for a back of the rotation guy. Ian Kennadia, go work on somethings in Scranton where you should have started this season.

Actually ldcjasper does bring up a great point. Being a lifelong Yankee I was STILL annoyed at all the ESPN butt-kissing they did with the Yankees. It’s like they’re that annoying little kid on the schoolyard who keeps trying to be friends with whoever’s the popular kid at that moment. Of course, this annoying little kid called ESPN reaches millions and millions of viewers so they also start feeling very self-important.

Gagne helped the Red Sox win the World Series! You know, that 6.75 ERA was the most important reason they won. That’s why Buster Olney was right. I mean sure, maybe this year we’d no longer have two possible future stars of the franchise, but at least we would have had a reliever with a 6.75 last year.

Looks like Clemens will turn down any overtures from the Astros and retire, he won’t pitch for a losing team and he won’t pitch for the Yankees or Red Sox because neither wants him. Stay Tuned Boston could bring him in briefly to close out his career as a reliever.

i like buster onley because he picked the yankees to win the world series the past seven years. wow what a boston homer, oops he was a beat writer for the yankees. how soon we forget. it is funny that no one was tired of all the butt kissing when the yanks were winning the titles. i understand that was a long time ago.

I like all the ESPN guy because they are proud of their membership in urine-nation. So proud that they booted Harold Reynolds from this club. I like Joe Morgan the best and I don’t believe he is a member of this urine-nation ESPN creation.

Peter Gammons. I tire quickly of the constant butt-kissing of Barry Bonds, the Red Sox, and any team that he feels has “some good young ball-players” (i.e. Cleveland, Colorado, and ALWAYS the Twins). I’m also curious why he hasn’t talked about his many predictions of Bobby Crosby being the next Jeter and multiple MVP winner.

I hope Pavano starts for us. I for one saw him pitch several years ago and he really was…well…he was bad that day, but I saw him pitch later and he was…hmm…well he was bad that day too. But then I think about all the games he’s pitched over the last few years and…darn…I guess he hasn’t pitched that many. Oh well, we still love you Carl!

P.P.S. Hank needs to shut his mouth unless he is willing to fire Cashman. If he is gonna allow Cashman to be in charge of personnel, he needs to atleast agree with Cash in public. It is complete nonsense that they would make conflicting statements within 24 hours. That has all the signs of a power struggle and one which Cash should not participate in and should resign immediately.

Ian Kennadia needs to be optioned to triple A immediately before his confidence doesn’t return ever. Ian Kennadia is in danger of becoming baseball’s Bryant Westbrook (a high paid free agent corner who got burned so bad he never played again after about 2 games with the Cowboys).

Right now Mussina is our 3rd best pitcher, Hughes is at best a #4 though I expect him to pick up. If he doesn’t he will be seen as a back end of the rotation guy.

Wilson Betemit has played his last game for the Yankees or any minor league affiliate. He is on the DL while his trade value is being investigated.

mussina had 1 terrible start it happens….last time i checked he has been doing better than hughes and IK and he can barely hit 87, moose’s job is to chew up innings to atleast the 6th and only allow 4 or under in runs…the offense needs to produce these runs, we do not have a 100 mil infield for nothing

Now that I think about it, if Arod goes down for anytime whatsoever, I think we HAVE to bring Duncan back up. We’ll need another righty and one with power wouldn’t hurt. Then hopefully Duncan will hit 84 home runs and Joe will have no choice but to bench Giambi. You watch. It’ll happen. 84 home runs.

We don’t know what to expect from Chamberlain as a starter, but again, it’s better to find out earlier rather than later. One thing is for sure , the longer he stays in the pen, the more his development as a starter is slowed. I think he definitely has the ability as a starter, and will be one eventually.

You are all right, We don’t need an ace. What we need is more consistency with the pitchers we have. Joba has been great, but will he do be able to do the same as a starter remains to be seen. Throwing in the hi 90s for one inning is not as difficult to do the same over 6 or more innings, We tend to forget he’s only a year out of school. Are we expecting too much from our younguns? They really need more time to establish themselves and I believe we can expect big things from them in the near future.
What I’d like to see is Giradi getting Giambi & Mussina and talking to them as th how you want them to perform. Giambi
should be told that he will sit until he learns how to hit to the opposite field. His average is to say the least pathetic. If he’s to help the team we need him to drive in some runs going the other way….. Moose, If he doesn’t use his experience to get people out, (He still thinks he’s 30) He will be put into the pen. I don’t think you ask him what he’d like to do, Joe should tell him exactly what he wants and expects from him. This veteran crap must stop. Lets bring Duncan up and put rim at 1st, We don’t need a bat in the lineup or DH that is hurting the whole team. We are averaging less than 4 runs a game and we won’t win that way, it’s putting more pressure on our insecure pitchers.
“GO YANKEES”

Again, the reason those Yankee teams were so successful was because it was a well-balanced team of offense, and pitching, a solid pen with Wetteland, Rivera,Nelson etc. Also a smattering of decent defense. This team isn’t going to win without one or the other, right now it has neither.

I think with this rotation we don’t actually KNOW what’ll happen. I think there’s a chance they could all turn out to be great, and I think there’s a chance the rotation could get killed. But IF the young guys pan out, then we’re starting to get back to those rotations we’re all talking about here. It’s asking a lot, but it’ll also give a lot back (like number 27 hopefully).

With such a rotation we’ll win a lot of games than get creamed in the post season.

Our lineup can beat up weak teams and no.5 starters on stronger teams. But in October, against a top pitcher almost every game, the best lineup can get shut down. We need good pitching to keep us in low scoring games if we are going to win World Series no.27

Doesn’t have to be Santana or Beckett, but guys like Pettite and Cone who were good enough in those ames. Pettite is still a fine pitcher in October, and hopefully our young core will be when the time comes.

So, basically we have Hank calling Cashman an idiot? I’ll be damned, I’m really starting to like Hank again. He’s got a big mouth and he’s not scared to run it. Cashman should’ve been fired for not chasing a setup guy to replace Chamberlain in the off-season. It’s not like we don’t have some trading chips to use. Mix in a good deal for once, Cash. It’s not like you have to give up the entire farm t get a good setup man. A few 2nd tier prospects and call it a day.

Fellas, RARELY has ANY Yankee team had a domiant “ace” and a lights out starting rotation. I say this about 20 times per week, but we aren’t called the Bronx Bombers for nothing. All’s this Yankee lineup needs is a rotation that averages around 6.0 innings per game, and has an ERA around 4.00. If we have that rotation and a robust bullpen we win 110 games and a 27th world title. Simple.

If you take both Mussina and Pettitte over the years, they show that just consistently keeping their teams in the games will yield more wins. Well, at least with good teams, heh. Nolan Ryan is reading this and wishing he pitched for those Yankee teams.

I agree with you about the whole “ace” thing. That’s one of the reasons why I was against the Santana deal from the start. Having a pitcher like him would make the Yankees a better team, but he doesn’t guarantee anything. He is only one player who would take the field once every 5 days.

Those other Yankees teams you mentioned didn’t need a true “ace” to be successful. Those teams were well-balanced teams who could rely on solid pitching, and good offense who could rely on small ball as well to win. So teams don’t need a “true ace” to win.

As I’ve said before many times, the first half of the season is the best time to find out if he can be a starter or not, especially with the current starters have been pitching. At the present time he is being wasted in the pen, as he hasn’t pitched in any significant situation in a while regardless of the fact he has been away for a while, he still wouldn’t have pitched in a setup situation because the starters have been mediocre at best, and the pen has been shaky at best, and inconsistent at worst. Have Ohlendorff take his spot as the setup man for now. This staff desperately needs to have a pitcher who can shut down opponents and has the ability to put hitters away. IF Chamberlain fails as a starter move him back to the pen, waiting until the second half of the season when games count would be foolish.

Also, I’m tired of this whole “we need an ace” stuff. Here are the pitching staffs of those late 90s teams. Rarely do you find an “ace.” What you find more often are 4-5 guys who are all solid. That way, any given day one of them has a good chance of pitching a good one.
1996 – Pettitte (3.87), Key (4.68), Rodgers (4.68), Gooden (5.01), Cone (2.88)

I personally think Joba should be in the bullpen for now but I’m by no means opposed to making a starter. For me, all it would take is for two guys to really step up and show they can be consistent, shut down guys out of the bullpen. So far this season both Bruney and Ohlendorf have stepped up and if I get the feeling they’re going to continue that way then by all means get Joba into the rotation. I’m still not completely sold on those two guys just yet which is why I’m still slightly on the “Joba in the bullpen” side of the spectrum. I also think Hank is going about it all wrong because he’s now calling “idiots” for doing something that actually makes a lot of sense (umm, the Yankees would NOT have made the playoffs without Joba in the ‘pen last year), AND, this is the big one, we still don’t know exactly what Joba will be as a starter. Do I think he’ll be good? Oh yeah. But I don’t KNOW that and I do KNOW he’s lights out out of the ‘pen (but then the flipside of that is of course you can try him as a starter and if that doesn’t work put him back in the ‘pen). I think my big problem with Hank is when he said he needs to be our “Beckett.” That’s just ridiculous. Beckett has over 6 years experience and has proven that when healthy he is one of the elite pitchers in the game. How’s about we think of Joba as a possible “solid addition to the rotation” and not the next Beckett.

Looks like Hank is finally seeing things the way I have for awhile when it comes to Chamberlain:

Hank Steinbrenner has also been looking on, and it’s a setup that the Yankees’ co-chairman wants to change immediately. Steinbrenner told The New York Times on Sunday that the club should move Chamberlain into the rotation as soon as possible.

“I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now,” Steinbrenner told the newspaper. “There is no question about it, you don’t have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don’t do that. You have to be an idiot to do that.”

Like I said in a previous post, if things remain shaky for the starting rotation for a while, I wouldn’t be surprised to Chamberlain in the rotation to shake things up, and hopefully prvide some solid if not dominant pitching in the rotation. The way Hughes, and Kennedy have been pitching and how infrequestnly Chamberlain has pitched I wouldn’t even worry about limiting their innings. The Yanks could replace Chamberlain with Ohlendorff as the setup man. With his stuff, he is more than capable of doing a good job in that role.

Ensburg has proven to be a solid spot starter and can fill in for Arod for a couple of days. Betemit should be in AA let alone AAA, he’s pure garbage. I have to wonder how soon Joba finds himself toeing the rubber in the 1st inning, and when he does if that drops Moose into a long reliever spot. I can see that happening and Ohlendorff taking over Joba’s role, even Bruney. The pen has been tested and overall has held it’s own, I can’t think of a game so far in this young season that our starter pitched lights out and the pen stunk up the place, it seemed like when the pen stunk everybody else did too. Hopefully the Yanks can turn things around and other teams finish off the Sox please, four come-from-behind wins in a week after the 7th inning?!? Thats plain stupid FINISH A GAME OUT!

When Betamit comes back from his DL assignment he should be sent to the minors. I’d hate for him to take a roster spot away from someone who can actually help this team. To think we gave up Scott Proctor for this guy.

Chaz, I think the thing we’re all forgetting about (myself included) is that they just played 20 straight games with basically no sleep thanks to the horrible scheduling. That, along with the fact that Arod and Jeter are two of the biggest hustlers I’ve ever seen (who says $20 million spoils you), is just asking for something like this. It’s really unfortunate because when I first saw the schedule I first thought to myself “wow, that’ll be tough. I hope they can get through it.” I didn’t think for one bit that it would possibly cause injuries. Now that I look back at it I kinda feel stupid, heh. Let’s just hope this isn’t too bad and Arod misses only a few.

So, let me get this straight. We had to suffer from 750 different hamstring injuries last season, and we are going to have to suffer through the same for the quad now? Is it going to just move around the leg? Are we going to encounter a rash of calf injuries in 2009? Who is conditioning these guys, Helga from Sweden? Mix in some stretches before the game, Bombers. 1 is unfortunate, 2 is coincedence, 3 is a pattern. If one more roster member has a quad problem, it’s time to fire a trainer or 10.
IPK and Hughes are being asked to do a whole lot. While I think they will be OK, even great, by year’s end, they are sure stinking up the place right now. We need to get these guys going. I think the easiest way to do that is bring in a veteran starter that can come off the bench and take innings from these kids if they aren’t getting it done. At least then if they get lit up, we aren’t using 5 relievers per game to keep in the game. Or, we can take IPK and put him in that long relief role, and add a new number 5 to the rotation. Either way, we needn’t panic and give up on these 2 kids. They are still the future of our rotation.

Back in time

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.